East Bridgewater students offer donated prom dresses, services

Thursday

Apr 17, 2014 at 5:00 AM

Staff Reporter

EAST BRIDGEWATER – Brynne Connolly and Tori Frew are looking for prom dresses. Lots of them. The East Bridgewater Junior-Senior High School seniors are collecting donated prom dresses for high school students who can’t afford to spend a lot at prom time.

“Prom is a huge expense,” said Connolly, 17, who spent about $700 for a dress, hair and makeup for her junior prom last year. “With the economy the way it is, not a lot of people can afford to do it.”

Last year, she and Frew and another friend, Samantha Eldredge, now a college student, started “Project Prom,” a service they created for high schools students facing financial burdens at prom time.

The teens’ goal is to give new or slightly worn prom dresses to students who need them. Last year, they received about 60 donated prom dresses. And this year, about 50 dresses have been donated so far, the teens said.

“We’ve got all these dresses, some of them are gorgeous,” said Frew, 18. “It just makes you feel good to give a dress to a girl who can feel like a million bucks wearing it.”

The colorful dresses – including several pink, blue, black, purple and red gowns – are being kept inside a room at the high school. The dresses range from size 0 to size 24 and are free to any girl who needs one, the teens said.

“We kind of just trust that people do need the dresses,” Frew said. “If they find one that fits, they can take it. They don’t have to return it or anything. It’s their dress.”

And the program is not just for East Bridgewater students, she said.

“We’ve opened it up to other schools in our area,” Frew said. “We’ve had people contact us from Kentucky about the dresses.”

In addition to the dresses, students have received volunteered time from hairdressers, cash donations and corsages.

Connolly and Frew are reaching out to students in need via social media, on Facebook and Twitter, @ProjectProm2.

By sending an email or message to their Facebook page, the team will then set up a meeting with a student to discuss what they need.

“I find it really rewarding,” Connolly said. “It’s just really great to get to help someone in need. It’s a good feeling.”

For more information, send an e-mail to ebhs.project.prom@gmail.com.

Maria Papadopoulos may be reached at mpapa@enterprisenews.com or follow on Twitter @MariaP_ENT.